Philips Electronics said it's leaving the consumer electronics market after facing consecutive losses and failing to keep up with competitors.

Philips sold its audio, video, accessories and multimedia business to Japanese company Funai Electric Co. for $201.8 million USD. It was paid in cash and a brand-license fee.

Philips was once a big player in the consumer electronics ring. It was the biggest suppliers of radios in the 1930s, the inventor of the audio cassette in the 1960s, created the first videocassette player in the 1970s and released the compact disc in the 1980s.

However, we've moved into an era of digital, streaming entertainment and Philips just can't keep up. The company has had a hard time competing with the likes of Apple and Samsung when it comes to consumer electronics like mobile devices and televisions.

“Our consumer lifestyle business was margin dilutive to the group, so it was time to decide to move away from consumer electronics,” said Frans van Houten, Philips’s CEO.
“Since we have online entertainment, people do not buy Blu-ray and DVD players anymore."

For Q4 2012, Philips' net loss was €358 million ($482 million USD) compared to a loss of €162 million ($218 million USD) in Q4 2011. The company had to take a restructuring charge of €380 million ($512 million USD) as well as a €509 million ($685 million USD) for a fine related to European television market manipulation in the 1990s.

However, Philips is doing quite well in the medical equipment and lighting sectors. For Q4 2012, health care order intake increased 4 percent while lighting also grew 4 percent.

Last October, Philips introduced "Hue" LED bulbs that offer limitless colors and can be controlled from an iPhone. A starter kit with three bulbs starts at $199.

Philips' 2013 goals include a 4 to 6 percent revenue growth and a 10 to 12 percent margin for earnings before tax, interest and amortization. By 2014, the company hopes to have a savings of €1.1 billion. At the end of 2012, Philips had €471 million saved.

RCA as a company was sold to GE who also spun off the consumer branding of RCA to Thompson Electronic.

But the industrial/government side of RCA's business went to GE, then Martin Marietta, then to Lockheed Martin.

Who/where the consumer brand "RCA" is now I have no idea and don't feel like looking it up. It's quite possible some French owned company has the rights to distribute products under the RCA name. But it's sure not RCA anymore, which I hate.

Exactly like the Philips name and countless other brands. You think you are buying a brand with some history and perceived quality when you are not. In reality, the product could be made by a Chinese sweatshop opened last week with zero quality that is contracted by an anonymous company who just so happens to own the rights to the brand name.

Welcome to the real world. It's been a long time since many "old" brands made their own products. At least, all of their own products.

Go to Target and see LCD TVs branded Polaroid, Westinghouse, Emerson, whatever...those companies have no facilities at all to actually make such things. I'm not sure they have any facilities of their own at all anymore, come to think of it.

But, there's value in the brand name if nothing else, which is why people will continue to purchase products thusly branded. If you saw 2 identical TVs at the store, one at $400 branded ChongQing and one at $500 branded Polaroid, you're fairly likely to splurge the extra $100 for the Polaroid name - even if both TVs literally rolled off the same assembly line.

Which is why, when shopping for such things, I tell people that if money is an object then just pick out the TV you want based on it's features and price. If you've got unlimited funds, then sure - go buy the super-high-end stuff that Sony etc. are making. Otherwise...don't even pay any attention to the brand name.